Cigar



Patented Dec. Z0, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIGAR Edward W.Berriman, Tampa, Fla.

Application April 15, 1937, Serial No. 137,121

8 Claims.

This invention relates to cigars.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a non-combustible orcombustion-resisting mouth piece for cigars that is easily gripped inthe mouth of the smoker and that retains its form notwithstanding itscontact with saliva.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of an effective sealfor the joint between the mouth piece and the cigar which reduces cigarbreakage to a minimum.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elongated couplingmember having a part anchored in the bore of the mouth piece and a partanchored in the filler leaves of the cigar wherein that part which isanchored in the mouth piece acts as a filter or baffle to remove heavyproducts of combustion in the cigar smoke.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a cigar of the characterreferred to, that is strong, compact and durable, that is well balancedwhen held in the mouth of the smoker, that avoids the formation of asoggy mouth end, and that is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention consists ofthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts that willbe hereinafter more specically described and il lustrated in theaccompanying drawing, but it is to' be understood that changes,variations, and modifications may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts throughout the several views Figure l is a sideelevation of a cigar constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the mouth piece showing the couplingmember anchored in the mouth piece and the mouth piece and couplingmember removed from the cigar; and

Figure 4 is .an enlarged fragmentary diametric section of an end portionof the mouth piece With the coupling member assembled therewith butremoved from the cigar and showing the position of the coupling memberwhen the cigar is nished as shown in Figure 2.

The cigar of the present invention is'of a composite nature having atobacco or combustible part A into which is fabricated as an integralpart, acombustion-ressting mouthpiece IG. The cigar constructed inaccordance with the present in vention and in the form shown, has theinterior of the combustible part A of the cigar made of a (Cl. ISI- 52)substantially cylindrical bunch of filler leaves 8. 'I'hese ller leavesare tobacco and they are consumed in the course of smoking. On the innerend, the ller leaves are cut off on a transverse plane face 9. 1 Acombustion-resisting mouthpiece II) which is substantially cylindricaland elongated is mounted on the plane face 9 of the ller leaves. Themouthpiece is preferably formed oi material that is substantiallyimpervious to the salvia of the "10 mouth and yet exible enough topermit it to be gripped firmly by the teeth without discomfort to thesmoker. Cork serves very satisfactorily for the construction of thismouthpiece and does not discolor teeth. The outer end of the mouthpiece15 is slightly rounded as at I I and this eliminates the necessity ofthe practice of biting off the point of the cigar. Through the axis ofthe mouthpiece, there extends a bore I2 which forms a passage for thesmoke when the mouthpiece is assembled 20 on the cigar. 'Ihe inner endof the mouthpiece has a plane transverse face I3 which is complementaryto the plane transverse face 9 of the ller leaves In the assembledrelation, face I3 of the mouthpiece abuts in snug relation the flat lx25face 9 of the filler leaves. The bore I2 extends from the flat face I3to the rounded outer end I I of the mouthpiece and this bore lies alongthe axis of the substantially cylindrical bunch of filler leaves. 30

The spiral or helical coupling member is indicated at B. This couplingmember is made of spring steel and is flexible and pliable. The outersurface of the convolutions of the coupling member describe an elongatedcylindrical peg or pin y.mi having a part I5b at the outer end anchoredin the inner end of the bore l2, while the inner end IEa of the memberprojects beyond the flat face E3 of the mouthpiece and anchors along theaxis of the bunch of filler leaves 8 as will be underim stood byreferring to Figure 2 of the drawing.

The coupling member B is preferably formed of a lat strip of springmetal bent or coiled into the convolutions of a spiral or helix. Thewidth of the strip is bent or coiled in a fashion to be dis- .345 posedat an angle to the radius of the cylinder generated by the spiral orhelix. The edges I4 in advance are sharp so that when the outer end ofthe coupling member is screwed into the bore while being assembled, aperipheral part of thebo width of each convolution embeds itself intothe Walls of the bore as indicated at I5. By referring to Figure 4, itwill be seen that an inner part I5 of each of the convolutions in themouthpiece extends into the passage of the bore I2 and bafiies .55

or filters heavy products of combustion from the smoke being drawnthrough the bore of the mouthp1ece.

To assemble the mouthpiece on the cigar, a part I5a of the couplingmember B extending free oi the mouthpiece is screwed into the centerller leaves as clearly shown in Figure 3 of the drawing. Then themouthpiece is assembled on the ller leaves as described, and then thetobacco wrapper I6 is applied. This tobacco wrapper is in the form of along strip of tobacco which is wrapped about the ller leavescontinuously from the outer end of the filler leaves to a pointapproximately one-third of the length of the mouthpiece. The end of thewrapper I6 is doubled over as at I1, on the outer end of the fillerleaves. It will thus be seen that the wrapper I6 not only forms a sealfor the filler leaves 8, but seals the joint between the faces I3 and 9of the mouth'- piece and ller leaves, respectively.

The Wrapper I6 not only forms a seal for the joint between themouthpiece and filler leaves, but also furnishes a certain amount ofoutside reinforcement for holding the confronting ends of the mouthpieceand filler leaves together on the exterior of the cigar. The couplingmember B furnishes a connection and reinforcement between the mouthpieceand ller leaves on the interior of the cigar.

To provide additional reinforcement for the joint between the mouthpieceand ller leaves, there is secured in snugly embracing relation anon-absorbent paper band I8 which overlaps the joint between themouthpiece and filler leaves. The paper band I8 is mounted on theoutside of the wrapper I6 and the ends of the band overlap and arecemented together in customary fashion. This paper band serves to applycertain indicia common in the trade, such as trade marks, name of themanufacturer, etc.

While it has been heretofore pointed out that a portion I5' of the widthof each convolution of the coupling member B that extends into the boreI2 projects into the passage of the bore for filtering purposes, it willbe seen that there is an axial passage I9 in the center which is free ofobstruction so as to permit an abundance of draft passage and make thecigar draw easily.

It is known that previous cigar constructions have contemplated theintegral attachment of a mouthpiece of wood or cork to the combustiblepart of a cigar. In such constructions, however, the mouthpiece isformed with a socket and the tobacco filler is compressed when it isforced into seating relation in the socket. Drawing tobacco smokethrough this compressed area causes a deposit of the vegetable oils andother products of combustion which makes Vsuch cigars strong and bitter.The construction of the present invention requires no other compressionforce on the lller leaves, other than follows from the application ofthe wrapper I6, thereby making the cigar mild and sweet.

In assembling the mouthpiece I on the cigar, the part Ia of the couplingmember B is screwed into the filler leaf bunch 8 leaving part |51)extending free of the bunch. Then part I5by is screwed into the bore I2and due to the pliable ,nature of the coupling, there will be a slightaxial 'lengthening of the coupling which has a tendency bacco leaves,and the tension on the coupling member B holds the mouthpiece tightly tothe ller bunch and compensates for whatever shrinkage that may occurthereby insuring a tight joint between the mouthpiece and tobacco partA.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a cigar, the combination of tobacco filler leaves arranged in asubstantially cylindrical bunch and having a plane transverse face atone end,'a bored mouthpiece having a face at one end complementary tothe plane transverse face on the bunch and in abutment therewith toprovide a flat transverse butt joint, a tobacco wrapper circumposedabout the bunch and mouthpiece to act in part as a seal for the joint,and a spiral coil coupling member having a part anchored in the bore anda part anchored in the filler leaves, that part of the coupling memberin the bore having portions of the convolutions extending into thepassage of the bore to collect heavy products of combustion in thetobacco smoke.

2. In .a joint between a combustible part of a cigar and acombustion-resisting bored mouthpiece, and an exterior seal between themouthpiece and combustible part, an interior spiral coupling between themouthpiece and combustible part, said coil spiral coupling having ap0rtion anchored in the bore of the mouthpiece and another portionanchored in the combustible parts, and that part of the coil couplinganchored in the bore of the mouthpiece having a portion of theconvolutions extending into the passage of the bore to collect heavyproducts of combustion in the cigar smoke.

3. A composite cigar comprising a tobacco part and a bored mouthpiececonnected together, and a spiral coil coupling member having certain ofits convolutions seated in the walls of the bore of the mouthpiece andother convolutions thereof anchored in the tobacco part.

4. A composite cigar comprising a tobacco part and a bored mouthpiecedisposed in end to end relation to provide a butt joint therebetween, atobacco seal embracing the surface of the butt joint, and an elongatedcoil coupling member below the surface of the butt joint having aportion of its length embedded in the walls of the bore of themouthpiece and the remaining portion anchored in the tobacco part.

5. A coupling member for use in connecting bored mouthpieces to cigarscomprising an elongated helical coil the convolutions of which arecapable of yielding in a direction of its axis, and the coil beingformed of a ilat strip the surfaces of which are angularly disposed withrespect to the axis of the coil.

6. A coupling member for use in connecting Vbored mouthpieces to cigarscomprising an elongated helical coil the convolutions of which arecapable of yielding in a direction of its axis, and the coil beingformed of a at strip the surfaces of which are angularly ldisposed withrespect to the axis of the coil, and the advance edge of theconvolutions being sharpened for the purpose of embedding in the bore ofthe mouthpiece.

'7. In a cigar, the combination of a tobacco filler and a mouthpiecebored through its length, said ller and mouthpiece arranged in end toend abutment to provide a transverse joint, a Wrapper embracing thefiller and a portion of the mouthpiece to seal the ller'and the joint,and a longitudinally retractile coupling means, said means having a partthereof anchored in the bore of said mouthpiece and another partanchored in saidv filler to provide an interior connection between theller and the mouthpiece, said means permitting smoke to pass from thefiller through the bore of the mouthpiece.

8. A composite cigar comprising a combustible 5 part, a mouthpiece boredthrough its length, and

a. retractile coupling member joining the combustible part andmouthpiece to hold them together under axial tension and forming apassage for smoke through the bore of the mouthpiece.

EDWARD W. BERRIMAN.

